Grit, twang, swoops and swirls, yep, all the usual suspects. What separates Darryl Lee Rush from the pack of country contenders is that voice. Rings like that old bell you’ve heard about. Clear like glass, deep and fluid as water, Darryl Lee’s vocal delivery brings you into the tale, not knowing how you got there; you are involved in the story, an observer who understands what the participant is experiencing.
The narrator does some soul and car searching in “Las Vegas Christmas Eve”. As he does “one last dance to the cash machine”, you are sitting one seat over, punching for money and having internal buttons pushed by the same thoughts, maybe a little envious that another can “walk through those doors and face the street”. As the characters head down to Bandera and Fredericksburg in “Broken Glass”, you’re riding shotgun, same goes true in “Leaving Virginia” and “Jackson Hole”. As the last bit of love hits the floor, you grab your git-it-on and head with off with Darryl’s decision to “take it right on down to the dance hall, take it 
right on down to the bar, take it right on down to the edge of Sunday morning and I hope I don’t take it down too far” (‘Dance Hall’). That is what clarity in a voice offers, the lines between them and us, him and her, blur. The bridge that stands between song and listener is gone.
Making sure not to rely on words alone, the music on the self-titled Darryl Lee Rush album 
comes up bright. Whether propped up with frenetic chord strums and tom tom-ed back beats on “Burn It Down”, riding a riff fueled hook into “Hard Rain” or slowing down in a dream about “Marissa” as it sways to a rhythm dominated by acoustic guitar notes, accordion, strings and muffled drumming, the music shares clarity with the voice. The leading men of voice (Darryl Lee Rush) and guitar (Scott Oldner) shared production credits and they should be proud. The natural ability of what comes through throat and finger is amplified with all its perfection intact and expanded on with studio technology.
The characters share self-reflection and the need to have their tales heard. A life in war is retold through the eyes of a father gazing on his son’s words in “Letter From A Soldier”, the pain and pride of both is felt as the letters on the page take flight.
Darryl Lee Rush is a Texas singer/songwriter. To find out about playing for the hometown crowds and beyond, look to his website for more information. Danny McCloskey
